Little Comfort Lake Phosphorus Reduction Implementation
The proposed project addresses phosphorus reductions to Little Comfort Lake, a 36-acre, impaired lake that is hydrologically connected to Comfort Lake via a culvert under Highway 8. Comfort Lake ultimately drains to the St. Croix River, a wild and scenic riverway, through the Sunrise River. Comfort Lake is a public waterbody, has a public boat landing and is used recreationally for swimming, fishing, and motorized and non-motorized boating. Comfort Lake is 219 acres, the second largest lake in the District, and is highly visible from State Highway 8. While the phosphorus improvements of this project are directly for Little Comfort Lake, improved water quality in Little Comfort Lake achieves the remaining phosphorus reductions for Comfort Lake to meet its long-term District goal of 30ppb and be removed from the impaired waters list.
The proposed projects include implementation of a variable height weir to impound water in a large wetland complex that is currently ditched and discharging high phosphorus concentrations to Little Comfort Lake via the Heath Avenue outlet pipe, a series of beaver dam analogs along the School Lake outlet channel to Little Comfort Lake that is contributing sediment and phosphorus from unconsolidated stream bed materials, and an in-lake alum treatment to reduce internal sediment phosphorus loads in Little Comfort Lake.
The proposed projects are expected to remove total phosphorus loads discharging to Little Comfort Lake of 80 lb/yr from the east wetland impoundment, 60 lb/yr from the School Lake outlet channel improvements, and 56 lb/yr of internal load from the in-lake alum treatment, for a total load reduction of 206 lb/yr (or 90% of the remaining load reductions needed for Little Comfort Lake to achieve the state water quality standard of 40 ug/L. Improvements in Little Comfort Lake will achieve the remaining reductions needed for Comfort Lake to achieve its long-term District goals and be removed from the impaired waters list.
Annie Felix-Gerth
(b) $16,000,000 the first year and $16,000,000 the second year are for grants to local government units to protect and restore surface water and drinking water; to keep water on the land; to protect, enhance, and restore water quality in lakes, rivers, and streams; and to protect groundwater and drinking water, including feedlot water quality and subsurface sewage treatment system projects and stream bank, stream channel, shoreline restoration, and ravine stabilization projects. The projects must use practices demonstrated to be effective, be of long-lasting public benefit, include a match, and be consistent with total maximum daily load (TMDL) implementation plans, watershed restoration and protection strategies (WRAPS), or local water management plans or their equivalents. A portion of this money may be used to seek administrative efficiencies through shared resources by multiple local governmental units. Up to 20 percent of this appropriation is available for land-treatment projects and practices that benefit drinking water.
Remove total phosphorus loads to Little Comfort Lake of 206 lb/yr (or 90% of the remaining load reductions needed for Little Comfort Lake to achieve the state water quality standard of 40 ug/L predicted in the lake water quality response model).
Due to multiple challenges outside grantee's control, the proposed projects were non feasible. Replacement projects were investigated but no suitable substitutes were found, and grantee returned funds.
LOCAL LEVERAGED FUNDS